


Soulmates

by HopefullyPessimistic



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, I have no excuse for this, Soulmate Tattoos, it's an au within an au, this is kind of in the same universe as Finding A Family, why can't I like popular pairings?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 12:11:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10593753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopefullyPessimistic/pseuds/HopefullyPessimistic
Summary: Max doesn’t believe in soulmates. The very idea that just because of a few scribbles written somewhere on your body you’re apparently meant to be with someone forever is complete and utter bullshit. His parents sure as hell don’t seem happy to be stuck with each other, or maybe it’s that they’re stuck with him? Whatever. Either way he refuses to play along with the conspiracy.Soulmate au in which the first thing your soulmate says to you is tattooed on your body





	

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I know I should be working on Finding A Family, but motivation is a fickle bitch. I guess this is technically in the FAF verse? It’s an au. It’s an au within an au. Also I apparently don’t believe in popular ships. Oh well.

Max doesn’t believe in soulmates. The very idea that just because of a few scribbles written somewhere on your body you’re apparently meant to be with someone forever is complete and utter bullshit. His parents sure as hell don’t seem happy to be stuck with each other, or maybe it’s that they’re stuck with him? Whatever. Either way he refuses to play along with the conspiracy.

He hears the words on the bus ride over to a place called Camp Campbell when he’s nine years old. It’s his parents latest attempt to get rid of him and Max is already not in the mood to deal with idiots. So when he sees out of the corner of his eye a nerdy-looking girl with dark skin–and were those _elf_ ears?–coming up to him, Max already has a snappy retort for her.

“You look like you’d be a warrior class.”

His response dies in his throat. This is it? This is the person who was supposed to fix him? The person who is supposed to make him complete, make life worth living? If he opens his mouth right now then whatever bullshit he says will bind him to her. Bind his life with hers forever and no matter what else he says after that, it won’t change the fact that he has her words and she has his.

So he says nothing.

He just levels a glare at her and puts on his headphones. She looks upset as she slowly walks back to her seat. Good. Now he just has to make sure that he never speaks to her for the rest of the summer and then he’ll never have to see her again or deal with this soulmate bullshit.

It’s harder to avoid talking to Nerris than he thought, but he manages. That’s her name, he finds out through the overenthusiastic counselor, Nerris Chantler. What a stupid name too. He makes sure to never be alone around her and when he does have to speak that he’s always talking to the person beside her, never actually her. Whether or not Nerris notices his aversion to her, Max doesn’t care. The summer ends, he goes home and vows to put this whole soulmate thing behind him.

It’s easier to avoid her the second year. He doesn’t want to, not out of a newfound desire to talk to her, but because of how annoying it was last year. He had been hoping that Nerris’ family gave enough of a shit about her to not send her back to this hell hole again, but it seems like neither of them were wanted at home. Oh joy, something in common. It’s when he meets Nikki and Neil that it becomes easy to ignore Nerris. Now that he has people around that he actually likes, Max can just focus on them and not on how Nerris has a new cloak and how similar in color it is to his own hoodie. He focuses on his escape plans and his new friends; he doesn’t have time for a soulmate. He doesn’t want one either.

He figures out how wrong he is around the time he goes back to Camp Campbell for the third time. By now he’s had about a full year of seeing how actual, happy soulmates act and it hurts. David Camphor and Jasper Andrews love each other more than Max has ever seen anyone love anything. They met when they were nine at the same camp David now works for, and their words are written on each other’s wrists in such a way that when they hold hands it’s like inter connecting puzzle pieces. They have so much love for each other and for Max that he feels like he’s drowning in it and if this is what it’s like to have people love you, what is it like to have your soulmate love you? Max suddenly, desperately wants to know. But he can’t. He’s waited too long and there’s no way to explain it in a way that would make Nerris want to do anything besides punch him. So he goes back to camp and does what he always does. He ignores her.

It’s awful trying to ignore her. He wants to go back to when he didn’t care because now it’s torture. He sees her smile and wants to know why. He sees her laugh and wants in on the joke. He sees her upset and god forbid, wants to help. Being adopted by David and Jasper has been both the best and worst thing to ever happen to him. Because he has a family now, but he’s lost his soulmate. He had already lost her, but at least before he didn’t know what he was giving up. Now he knows and there’s nothing he can do about it.

She finds him one day, curled up against a tree and trying not to have a breakdown. “Max? Are you okay, what happened?”

Max looks up at her, sees the concern on her face, and finally, after three long years, speaks to her. “I fucked up. I fucked up like I fuck up everything and I don’t know how to fix it.” It hurts to admit and he doesn’t know why he’s bothering to at this point. He can’t salvage this.

Nerris sits down besides him and frowns. “What did you do?”

Max lets out a laugh, but it’s hollow. The first conversation he has with his soulmate and he has to explain what a fuckup he is. Seems fitting.  
“I didn’t believe in soulmates. I didn’t believe that a few words written on someone’s skin should be able to determine whether or not they’d be perfect for each other. It didn’t work for my birth parents so why the fuck would it work for me?” He stops to look over at her and Nerris is just listening patiently, waiting for him to continue. Fuck, he doesn’t want to do this. He stands up and begins to pace, suddenly unable to just sit there anymore.

“I met my soulmate when I was nine. I know what my words are, I’ve had them memorized since I learned how to read so I knew it was them immediately. And I was just… _so pissed off_. I didn’t want to be stuck to someone I didn’t know and I didn’t want someone else to be stuck to me. I knew if I spoke up I’d be connected to them and I thought that if we were connected we’d end up hating each other, but trapped together so…so I said nothing. I’ve spent the last three _fucking_ years of my life saying nothing and-and now I know I was wrong.”

“How did you manage that?” Nerris asks in a quiet tone, confused, curious, and sad all at once. He can tell she doesn’t get it yet. Why would she? She’s expecting her words to be said from a total stranger, not from the asshole kid she’s seen every summer for the last three years.

“I made sure I was never alone with them. I made sure to never talk directly to them, only to whoever was next them and if I couldn’t do that then I just wouldn’t say anything.”

“You want to talk to them now, though?” At Max’s nod she continued. “Why now? What’s changed.”

“…I moved in with David and his soulmate.” It was the first time Max had admitted to living with David of his own free will. Even Nikki and Neil had just found out on accident. Nerris’ eyes widen in shock before she stares up at him questioningly. “Yeah, I know. It’s a long story, but basically my birth parents are pieces of shit so David and Jasper took me in…Anyway that’s not the important part. The important part is that they’re so fucking happy together and I don’t _get_ it. They have inside jokes and seem to know what the other is thinking and they’re just so in love it’s sickening to watch…and I want that. I want that and I can’t have it because how the fuck do you tell the person you’re supposed to be with that the very idea of being with someone freaked you out so much you refused to speak to them for three fucking years?”

Nerris stands up, brushes herself off and walks over to him to put her hand on his shoulder. "Just explain it to them. If they’re really your soulmate they’ll forgive you.“

"Explain it? Just like that?”

She thinks about it for a moment before shrugging. “Maybe give them a present too. Something they like to show them that you’re serious. And to butter them up.”

Max opens his mouth to speak before pausing. He’s gone this long without letting her know, what was one more week? “…Alright. Thanks Nerris.”

Nerris smiles brightly at him and Max can just feel himself starting to blush. He needs to find something for her, fast. “You’re welcome, Max. I hope it works out. I’ll cast a good luck spell on you just for extra measure.”

God, she’s such a dork…it’s kind of cute. It suddenly gives him an idea of what to get her.

It takes four days for the package to arrive and before David can even question why Max had something delivered to the camp, he’s already snatched it away from him and stashed it in his pocket.  
He finds Nerris arguing with Harrison over something and for the first time he begins a conversation with her. “Hey Nerris. Can I talk to you about something?”

Nerris looks up and smiles before flipping off Harrison, who rolls his eyes at her, and walks over to him. “Sure, what’s up?” Max takes a look around and quickly decides there’s too many people around so he takes Nerris by the hand and leads her away from sight. He quickly lets go once he realizes what he’s doing and then immediately wants the hand back. It might have been the only time he’d get to do that.

“So what’s up?” Nerris asks in a questioning tone. She didn’t seem upset, just curious. She always seems so curious about everything. She’s the exact opposite of him.

Max is tempted to say nothing. He’s been doing it for years, why stop now? Maybe if he doesn’t tell her then they can be friends and it won’t matter. But even as he thinks that Max knows he can’t. He’s so tired of saying nothing. So instead he takes a deep breath, reaches into his hoodie pocket and pulls out a small, black sack before handing it to a confused looking Nerris. “Here.”

Nerris looks at him strangely before opening the bag. Inside are a bunch of roll playing dice, all in a lavender color with the numbers painted gold. He hears her gasp and ducks his head. He can’t look at her right now.  
“Max, wha-?”

“I couldn’t think what else to get you,” he blurts out, his hands clenched at his sides.

“Y-You mean…”

He pushes up his left sleeve, revealing her words wrapped around his forearm.  
“I’m sorry, Nerris.” For a minute there’s silence before he finally he hears Nerris let out an annoyed growl and stomp over to him. She whacks him on the arm causing him to wince and look up. “I deserved that.”

She scoffs and crosses her arms. “Yes, yes you did.” She glares at him for a moment before her expression softens and she lets out a sigh. She lets her arms drop to her sides as she studies him. Max wants to speak, but he still can’t rack his brain for anything to say. Her lips twitch as she looks at him and finally after a minute of silence she steps closer to him and gently kisses his cheek. He freezes, staring at her wide eyed. “That’s for the dice. I hope you realize you’ll be making this up to me until the end of time.” Despite her words, Nerris is grinning at him, her hand resting on the arm she just hit.

Max feels himself relax completely for the first time in three years, a heavy weight lifted off his shoulders. He lets out a laugh, watching entranced as the sound makes Nerris light up even more.

“Sounds fair to me…but who the hell tries to start a conversation with ‘You look like you’d be a warrior class’ anyway?”

“Oh, shut up, Max. Besides it’s not like your words were any better.” When Max looks at her in confusion, Nerris rolls her eyes and sits down on the grass. She motions for Max to sit down beside her and once he does she pulls off her left boot and sock revealing his words. He stares down at the scrawl wrapped around her ankle and snorts. _I fucked up._  
“You had three extra years to think about it and that was the best you could come up with?”

“In my defense I wasn’t really thinking at all.”

“Well that I can believe.” When Max looks back up at her, Nerris is grinning. It’s his turn to roll his eyes.

“Is this how things are going to be? You insulting me all the time?” Despite his annoyed tone, Max can’t help the hopeful flutter he feels in his stomach. Nerris knocks her shoulder against his.

“Only when you deserve it. Now, come on soulmate. Let’s go break in these dice,” Nerris says as she pulls back on her boot. Max sighs and pulls her to her feet.

“You’re going to make me play Dungeons and Dragons, aren’t you?”

“Oh yeah. Don’t worry, you’ll love it.”

Max wasn’t so sure about that, but…  
“Whatever you say, nerd.”

At least he’ll be with her.


End file.
